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Cheers,
Maddie Day
DEATH BY HOT COCOA
Alex Erickson
Chapter One
Snow crunched underfoot as Rita Jablonski and I made our slow way toward the large building ahead. It looked like a warehouse, but it sat out in the middle of a farm on the outskirts of Pine Hills, which made it seem out of place against the backdrop of fields. Icicles hung from the gutters running along the top of the building, along with a string of colorful Christmas lights of alternating red and green.
“Are you sure this is the right place?” I asked Rita as I eyed the place. She was giddy with excitement, practically dancing in place as we walked.
“Of course I am, dear. Lewis holds these things a couple of times every year. Everyone knows it.”
Everyone but me, apparently.
I pulled my coat tighter around my shoulders as the wind picked up briefly. “I really should be getting the house ready for Dad and Laura.” I spoke with only a mild chatter to my teeth. Why couldn’t the parking lot be closer to our destination? It was way too cold to be outside. My poor nose felt like it was going to fall right off my face if I didn’t warm it up soon.
“Oh, pah.” Rita waved a heavily mittened hand at me. “This should only take an hour. You’ll be back in time to make sure everything is set to rights for James and that woman.”
I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye, but refused to comment. Rita was infatuated with my dad, who just so happened to be her favorite mystery writer. She hadn’t taken it too well when I’d first told her he had a girlfriend. It might have been months ago, yet it appeared she was still bitter about it.
We reached the building a few moments later. It had no markings on it to identify it as anything but a big warehouse, which made me imagine a gigantic room filled with dusty old boxes. With some trepidation, I stomped my way up the three stairs to the door, which, thankfully, resided beneath a roof. I shook the snow out of my hair as Rita reached for the doorknob.
Hot air blew out at us as the door swung open. I closed my eyes and made a low groan of pleasure as we stepped inside.
There were already four other people in the room. Christmas lights were strung along the walls, and a tree stood in the corner, complete with wrapped gifts sitting snugly beneath it. I was assuming they were mere props, not part of the festivities, but what did I know?
“Rita, I’m really not sure about this,” I said. “I’ve never done one of these before.”
“You’ll be fine,” she said, pulling off her mittens and shaking them out. Water dripped to the floor, as the snow had already melted, thanks to the heat. “I bet you’ll have the whole thing solved in mere minutes.” She elbowed me and grinned. “It’s what you do.”
“I serve coffee.” I’d taken the day off from Death by Coffee, the bookstore café I co-owned with my best friend, Vicki, to be here with Rita today.
“Escape rooms are a big deal these days,” Rita said, as if that should make everything better. “It’ll be just like solving a murder, just without the body!” She rubbed her hands together in anticipation.
I had my doubts about that, but I let it drop. Nothing was quite like a murder investigation. The fear, the constant worry that a killer might spring out of a dark corner and put an abrupt end to your investigation. No, I seriously doubted an escape room could compete with that.
“Besides, you can’t back out now, even if you wanted to,” Rita said. “I already pre-registered us for it. Lewis has put a lot of work into this and I, for one, don’t want to make it more difficult for him.”
The door opened and two more people entered. The couple appeared to be in their mid-twenties, and in the cute and cuddly stage of their relationship. The woman leaned on the man’s arm, giggling and staring at everything with wide-eyed wonder. The man was smiling, though I could tell he wasn’t comfortable with her hanging on to him like that. Some men just didn’t know how to show their feelings, especially in a room full of strangers.
The two newcomers walked right past Rita and me, and past a man who stood against the wall, tapping his foot. He wore an ugly red, green, and gold sweater, which would have been right at home in an ugly sweater contest. His eyes found mine, narrowed briefly, before he turned away.
Nearby, two men stood by one of those electric heaters that was made to look like a real fireplace. They were both wearing suits, which I found odd at a place like this. The thinner of the two men wore sneakers, while the bigger guy wore polished dress shoes, which clashed with the décor of the place. He looked as if he’d come straight from a business meeting.
The door next to them opened and a man strode through. He was tall, and was dressed in a way that I could only describe as a Christmasy butler. His hair was combed back from a face full of harsh lines, and was tucked beneath a green Santa hat. His suit was likewise green with red lining, and his shoes were a matching scarlet.
He scanned the group, and then his eyes suddenly hardened. The scowl that found his face was enough to dispel any notion that he was enjoying the holidays. He took an angry stride forward, jaw so clenched, I was afraid his teeth might shatter.
“Lewis, my friend!” The foot-tapping man pushed away from the wall and came to a stop in front of the scowling man—Lewis, apparently.
“I think we’re nearly all here,” Rita said. “Lewis only appears once everyone’s arrived. He doesn’t like people all that much, if you can believe it.”
With how hard he was glaring at the man jabbering at him, I most definitely could.
Rita glanced around the room. “I think we’re waiting for one more. The limit’s eight for this room, I believe. And he wouldn’t accept anything less. It would ruin the whole event if someone weren’t to show.” She tsked.
“What will he do if we’re short?” I asked.
Rita’s eyes widened like she couldn’t believe anyone would dare risk it. “Well, I don’t know. I expect he might postpone until we find someone to fill in.”
I groaned just a little inside, but was relieved of my worry when a door at the opposite end of the room opened and a plump older woman in a white sweater slipped out. She saw the rest of us looking her way and she winced.
“You!” Lewis shouted, jabbing a finger her way. He took two quick, angry strides away from the foot-tapping man. “What are you doing?”
“I was just looking,” the woman said, gaze bouncing around the room as if she was too embarrassed to meet anyone’s eye. “No one else was here and I thought—”
“That is a violation to the rules!” Lewis’s face turned a bright shade of red as he cut her off. “I should disqualify you and cancel the whole thing!”
“What? For taking a peek?” The woman pressed a hand to her chest. “There was no harm in it. I didn’t look at anything, just at the room to see how it was laid out.”
“It’s against the rules. You accepted them when you signed up. Or did you not bother to read the form?”
“There was a form?” I whispered to Rita, who gave me a sharp glare.
Lewis stared hard at the woman before he huffed. “Fine. I’ll let it slide this time, but one more infraction and I’m calling it off.”
The woman nodded, her face a deep scarlet as she edged away from the now-closed—and, apparently, off-limits—door.
“Welcome, everyone, to this year’s Christmas escape room,” Lewis said, his voice adopting a more cheerful tone as he raised it to address us all. “I am your host, your guide, Lewis Coates. I’d like to go over the rules briefly before allowing you to
get to know one another.”
Everyone moved to stand in a loose semicircle around Lewis. The couple who’d come in last stood immediately to my right, with Rita and the woman who’d just gotten yelled at to my left.
“First, I will ask that everyone leave their cell phones, purses, and any other valuables in the lockers behind here.” He motioned toward a desk. Lockers that looked a lot like the kind you’d find in a school hallway lined the wall behind it. “Take the key with you. Once the escape room is complete, you will be able to retrieve your things.”
“Why?” This from the bigger man in a suit.
Lewis’s mouth drew into a fine line. “Because I don’t want anyone cheating or becoming distracted by staring at your phones. Your belongings will be safe, as you will have the only key to your chosen locker.”
The big man crossed his arms and frowned, but didn’t otherwise complain.
“You are to all work together in this, which is why I will allow for a few moments for you to get to know one another before I take you to the start of your adventure. Do not fight. Do not destroy the property. Anyone doing so will be removed from the room and banned from ever returning.”
Someone grumbled under their breath. I didn’t see who.
Lewis checked his watch, which I noted had Mickey Mouse on its face. “I will return in five minutes. We can then begin.” Without another word, he strode through the doorway the woman had exited from a moment before.
“Guy’s a jerk,” the foot-tapping man said the moment Lewis was gone. “Always has to be in control, and if he isn’t, he freaks out.”
“I can’t believe he yelled at me,” the woman next to Rita said. “I was just looking. There’s no harm in that, is there?”
“He’s a control freak,” the man went on. “He works security and thinks that gives him the right to look down on everyone else.”
Not wanting to continue with the negativity, I held out a hand to the couple next to me. “Hi, I’m Krissy Hancock, and this is my friend, Rita Jablonski. This is my first time here.”
The woman was the one to reach for my hand. “June Blevins,” she said. “And my boyfriend, Troy Carpenter.”
“Pleasure.”
“This is our first time here too,” June said. “I’ve always wanted to do one of these things. When I found out Troy was coming, I insisted on tagging along, didn’t I?”
“That you did.” He didn’t appear amused, though he did put his arm around her and smiled.
“What do you two do for a living?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“Nothing exciting,” June said. “I work in my parents’ store.” She looked at Troy, pure adoration in her eyes. “Troy’s a banker.”
“I do investments,” he said. “Pretty boring stuff.”
I was surprised, but guess I shouldn’t be. He might be young, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have a real career.
I looked past them to the foot-tapping man. “And you are?” I asked him.
“Yuri Vance,” he said. He didn’t offer to shake hands.
“Have you done one of these before?” I asked.
Yuri shrugged. “I’ve done some. Not here, though.”
“It’s my first time too,” the big man in a suit said. “Bob Mackey, accountant.” He grinned. “I’m not sure what to expect, but figure it might be a fun little distraction.”
All eyes turned toward the man next to him, who blushed at the attention.
“You can call me Jerry,” he said, eyes dropping to his sneakers. “Jerry James.”
“Don’t mind J.,” Bob said with a chuckle. “He’s got to work on being more assertive. It’s holding you back, J., it really is.”
Jerry’s blush deepened as he nodded.
“I’m Carol,” the woman in the sweater said. “Most everyone still calls me Mrs. Kline, though. Habits are hard to break, I guess.” She tittered.
“You’re a teacher?” I guessed.
“Was. Retired a few years back. With what they’re doing to education these days, most of us are getting out while we still can. The politicians are making it so that most of us can’t actually teach the kids anything anymore.” She shook her head sadly. “It’s a real shame.”
“We’d better get our stuff locked up,” June said. “We only have a minute or two left before he’ll be back.”
And with how Lewis had reacted when he’d caught Carol sneaking out of the escape room, I doubted he’d be thrilled if we weren’t ready for his return.
Troy and June led the way to the lockers. The rest of us lined up behind them, waiting our turn. I took off my coat and gloves and hung them on the hanger inside my locker, once I was able. I considered slipping my cell phone into my pocket so I’d have it with me, but decided it wasn’t worth it; I didn’t want to face Lewis’s wrath if I were to be caught. I slid it into my coat pocket before I closed the door and took the key, which I tucked away into the front pocket of my jeans.
The escape room door opened again a moment later. Lewis stepped through, closed the door to prying eyes, and then turned to face us.
“It’s Christmas Eve,” he said in a dramatic voice that would have been perfectly in place on the stage. “Snow is falling, coating everything in a soft blanket of white.” His hand drifted slowly across our view, setting the scene.
“You, Santa’s elves, have worked hard to provide toys and gifts for all the children, yet one remains—a gift so magical, it must be locked away, lest those filled with greed attempt to steal it. This gift will be presented to Santa himself, if you can unlock it.” Lewis met my eye. His gaze was intense. “Follow me, and I will show you to your rooms.”
He opened the door behind him. The hallway beyond was lit by bright Christmas lights. The hall itself curved, and was obviously built for just this occasion. I could smell freshly cut wood and dried paint. Doors were placed periodically along the hall on the left side. I assumed there’d be eight in all, but with the curve, I couldn’t see them all to be certain.
“You have woken in your rooms,” Lewis said, motioning toward one of the doors. A small removable plaque on it read, CARP. “Because of the valuable nature of your gift, you have locked yourselves in your rooms, and must work together as one to enter the main room, where Santa’s gift has been kept safe from prying eyes.”
“We’ve got to go in alone?” Jerry asked. His eyes were a little too wide.
Lewis nodded. “Find your rooms. They will unlock as one and then you may enter.” He bowed his head slightly, and then vanished back the way we’d entered.
“This is so exciting!” Rita said, clapping her hands together. “Where’s my room?” Before anyone could so much as look, she was off, hurrying down the hall. “Krissy, here’s yours!” she called back to me. “Oh! And mine’s right beside it!”
“Who’s Carp?” Bob asked.
“That’s me,” Troy said with a shrug. “Used my old high school nickname when I registered.” He stepped up to his door, which got everyone else moving.
I found Rita four doors down, practically dancing from foot to foot. My room was right before hers, Bob’s before that. Jerry glanced back at Bob at least three times before he vanished around the corner in search of his room.
“Nerves,” Bob chuckled. “J. needs to get over it.” While Jerry had taken off his suit jacket, Bob had left his on. He patted his chest pocket once before turning to face the door.
All the lights in the hall flashed twice. And then, all at once, locks clicked, and doors sprang opened. Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I took hold of the doorknob, pulled the door open the rest of the way, and then stepped inside my first-ever escape room.
Chapter Two
The room was surprisingly big. It wasn’t quite as big as, let’s say, a normal living room, but it was close. There were small end tables, shelves, and a chair, all with Christmas-themed knickknacks and drawings scattered atop them. A door stood on the opposite side of the room. Glancing behind me, I noted the door I’d
entered through had no doorknob on this side. There was only one way out of the room, and I was pretty sure it wouldn’t be as easy as turning the knob.
“Okay.” I spoke aloud to calm my nerves. I could hear shuffling sounds and thumps coming from the rooms on either side of me. “Now what?”
There was so much to look at, it would take all day to sort through it all and make sense of it. I needed a guide, something to tell me what I was supposed to be doing.
“Oh, Lordy Lou, would you look at that?” Rita’s voice was muffled, but audible from the room beside me.
Noting a timer in the corner, counting down the minutes, I decided I’d best get moving. I had just under fifteen minutes remaining, which seemed like a lot of time, but with no idea what to do, it might as well have been quad zeroes.
I went to the door first. I tugged on the doorknob, but as expected, it was locked. There was no keyhole, so I wasn’t looking for a key. It was then I noticed the small rectangular box on the wall next to the door. There was a small keypad beneath it and just enough spaces for a three-digit code. Above the box were symbols, each lined up with the spaces for each number. The first symbol was a Christmas tree, the second was a Santa hat, and the third, a reindeer.
“Well, usually, there’s only one tree,” I muttered, entering 1 into the keypad. “And Santa has only one hat.” Another 1 followed. “And, counting Rudolph, there were nine reindeer.” I typed in 9. I then checked the door, thinking it was painfully easy if it worked.
Still locked.
“Okay, then.” I turned to take in the room. My eyes immediately landed on the Santa hat sitting in a rocking chair in the corner. I hurried over and picked it up. There were no numbers written on the inside or the outside of the thing. I felt around the fluffy white edge, but nothing was tucked inside there either.
Since the hat had been on the chair, I went ahead and checked it too. It was an old wooden rocking chair, the kind you could imagine someone’s grandmother sitting in with knitting in her lap. I was careful as I tipped it back to check underneath, afraid that it might be as frail as it looked.
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